supposedly

adverb

sup·​pos·​ed·​ly sə-ˈpō-zəd-lē 

also -ˈpōzd-lē

: as is supposed : according to what is or was said, claimed, or believed by some

a supposedly true story

a supposedly good restaurant

He had dozens of people around him, supposedly looking after him …

—Philip Norman

Daddy took me to the Legion, to shoot pool supposedly.

—Mary Karr

Synonyms of supposedly

• apparently
• seemingly
• ostensibly
• evidently
• presumably
• probably

Examples of supposedly in a Sentence

she's supposedly too sick to come—or so she says

Recent Examples on the Web

Breslow, a former pitcher and Yale graduate, supposedly brought baseball know-how and a player’s mentality to the front office. — Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

This summer, McMillan’s name was attached to a youth camp supposedly being held in Asheville. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 July 2026

Like many of Dunham’s chief adversaries were supposedly feminist writers on Jezebel. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026

Samsung has introduced new bands for the Watch 9 that feature air pockets and are supposedly more flexible and 25% lighter than the Watch 8 straps. — Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supposedly

• composedly